


fluorescent adolescent

by jenovibez



Series: starcrossed lovers [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Actor!Jaemin, College AU, M/M, dancer!jisung, drug use!, im emo ok, markren ftw, model!jeno, new year’s eve shenanigans, singer!haechan, their graduation msndns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:49:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21884770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenovibez/pseuds/jenovibez
Summary: renjun and mark spend new year’s eve together.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Mark Lee, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Series: starcrossed lovers [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576522
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	fluorescent adolescent

**Author's Note:**

> ahaha hi i’m emo so i’m writing this to help me accept the 00 line graduation.

renjun leans his head against mark's shoulder, looking down into the water his feet are immersed in, illuminated with a golden glow from the lights in the swimming pool below—the older boy remains quiet as they simply enjoy each other's presence—but they both know it'll end very, very soon. 

mark passes him the blunt they've shared—one that renjun actually stole from yangyang—and renjun happily accepts, breathing out a cloud of smoke before turning to the taller boy. he fiddled with the waistband of his pants as he thinks through his words, suddenly becoming aware of the uncomfortable wetness of the cuffs of his jeans. 

mark looks down at him, pupils blown as he giggles, and renjun can't think of anything all of a sudden. he distantly hears the pounding of loud music in the frat house behind them, but the hedgerow separating the swimming pool and the actual house were serving as a lifesaver, preventing his previous headache from worsening. 

"so."

mark starts, and renjuns attention snaps back up to the older boys eyes, watching carefully as his dilated pupils dart from his own features to away, like he can't focus on one thing—and lets be real, he probably can't. but as the smaller boys attention returns to mark, so do his thoughts. 

"you're leaving soon."

renjun breathes out, fiddling with the blunt in between his forefinger and his middle finger, and mark hums softly as he acknowledges renjuns statement. they both knew that mark would probably be leaving, but renjun hadn't exactly accepted that it was really happening.

"yeah."

mark replies lowly, arm curling around renjuns waist. the smaller boy looks at him with a raised eyebrow, and mark laughs. they lock eyes for a sweet second before renjun exhales, warm breath fogging up in the cold air. 

“so am i.”

he says softly, looking up to the dark sky above them, hues of black and deep blue with a splash of brilliance in the sparkling silver stars, beauty reflecting everything he thinks mark is. the elder boy whistles quietly, taking the blunt from renjun and tossing it away. 

“the others are too, right?”

he asks lowly, and renjun nods a little, choking up as he finally accepts that their group’s journey is finally _over_. it’ll just be their two youngest friends once jaemin, jeno, haechan and himself leave college. the thought breaks his heart, because he knows that jeno and haechan are definitely planning to leave the country. 

“it’s been a good four years, but i probably won’t see them much anymore.”

renjun comments, and mark hums in response. the shorter of the two closes his eyes for a second to think, but they fly back open when he feels mark take his hand. they look into each other’s eyes, still high off the drugs from the frat party, but something changes. 

“i’m moving to canada, jun.”

mark says after a while, and renjun snaps out of his daze. he nods a little, before finally working up a little courage for once and interlocking their fingers. he casts his mind back to their first year of college together, how all of them had been desperately waiting for their childhood friends, chenle and jisung to join them. 

their conversation is interrupted however, by the distant sound of an early fireworks celebration. renjun can’t help but crane his neck to see the explosions of bright colours painting the already beautiful sky, and mark squeezes his hand as they finally focus again. 

“so what’s your decision for new year?”

mark asks, and renjun has to think hard about what he really wants to do. there’s so many options for him, but he’s too afraid to say the one he wants the most, the one that would really be a perfect new years gift. so he works up the will and spits it out. 

“if i’m perfectly honest, i wanna stay with you. i don’t wanna end _us_ , what we have.”

renjun feels relief flood his veins when he sees mark smile a little, nodding as he brings renjun’s hand, interlocked in his, up to his lips and presses them against the back of the younger boys hand. it causes pink to dust renjun’s cheeks, visible even in the darkness of new year’s eve. 

“i was hoping you’d say that, actually.”

mark says after a few seconds of quiet, and renjun smiles, looking up at mark as the older boy clears his throat after. he has stars in his eyes, literally, from all the lights in the garden, and renjun thinks it’s simply beautiful. 

“how about we talk tomorrow, when i’m not high and probably drunk.” 

the older boys says, massaging his temple with his free hand and chuckling quietly. renjun lets a brief giggle slip past his lips, and nods as he lays his head on mark’s shoulder again. it feels natural, and he doesn’t want tonight to end. 

“we should go in and celebrate with everyone. i think loads of people have left.”

renjun whispers after a while, and mark checks the time on his phone. the screen lights up to display _11:45pm_ and renjun nods. he realises they need to say goodbye, because jeno is leaving at midday tomorrow—off to start his career as a model away from los angeles, though he doesn’t really want to leave his passion of boxing behind. 

jaemin too, hinted how he desires to pursue a career in the acting industry—why he majored in theatre—but he knows it’ll be tough, and he’ll have to fight for everything. so he can’t afford to be distracted by much—he’s already secured a job as an extra in a film for next month after all. 

he knows that jisung wants to become a famous dancer, with the younger boy majoring in dance and actually appearing in several dance studios on youtube. he’s talented, and renjun is jealous of his confidence in himself. chenle too, has his future pretty much planned out. he mentioned he would like to return to china, but knows his parents will be looking for him to step up as the heir to their company. 

renjun thinks he can relate to haechan the most, who wants to pursue the creative arts. haechan wants to become a singer, and the older of the two has always told him he could do it. so when haechan told him he’d been signed to a label, renjun felt like he was the only one who didn’t know what he wanted to do. 

mark is like him though—the older boy left college a year ago, and travelled the states for a while with his older brother johnny, before coming back to los angeles and working a barista job so that he can stay with renjun and his old friends. mark and him don’t really know what they want to do yet, so they stick with each other. 

eventually, they pull themselves to their feet and trudge inside, to be met by the countdown on the tv. renjun sees the number twenty, with the others being mostly quiet. he spots haechan in jeno’s arms, with jaemin rolling his eyes when he makes eye contact with renjun. 

chenle and jisung sit together on the couch, the pair of them inseparable since they found out about their older friends departure the next year. it’s all so sad to renjun, with all those years they spent together ultimately climaxing in them drifting apart. 

so when the countdown from ten begins, mark and renjun join in with louder voices, tears pricking at their eyes as they reach three. 

_three_. 

renjun glances up at mark, stars gone from his eyes, instead replaced by glassy tears brimming along his waterline. there’s a slight flush across the older boys cheeks, and renjun finds it adorable. 

_two_. 

mark looks down and locks eyes with renjun, the younger boy clearly trying to hold back tears of his own. even in the illumination of the tv, renjun is utterly breathtaking, and mark wishes they had more time. 

_one_. 

they finally press their lips together as the countdown ends, hearing the cheers of their friends and the party as the new year begins.


End file.
